


Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

by calicokisses



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Fukuroudani, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, Karasuno, Multi, Nekoma, Protective Karasuno Volleyball Club, Training Camp, Volleyball Dorks & Nerds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:00:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28807734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calicokisses/pseuds/calicokisses
Summary: Ever since [Name] joined as the assistant coach/manager for the Karasuno's volleyball club, her life has been an endless rollercoaster of teenage boys and lively adventures with her team. But just after the crows suffer a devastating loss to Aoba Johsai and they begin to rebuild at the Tokyo Training Camp, [Name] is sent off for three weeks to a camp to rebuild her own strength. But the guilt of leaving her team when they needed her most and the growing pile of her struggling emotions with certain players begins to take a toll on her even after she returns. She tries to distract herself at the Shinzen training camp, but the distance of the three weeks away from her team and her closest friends from Fukurodani and Nekoma only made her connections stronger. Can she come to terms with her feelings for her volleyball dorks or will she cave into her anxiety and habits of isolation again?
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Reader, Azumane Asahi/Reader, Bokuto Koutarou/Reader, Kozume Kenma/Reader, Kuroo Tetsurou/Reader, Reader/Various, Sugawara Koushi/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	1. Reunions & Rushes of Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Name] is reminiscing from her earliest memories with the Karasuno volleyball club while walking through the Tokyo airport ready to head off to the Shinzen camp for the next week. She just arrived back from her three week hiatus at a camp in Maui and while she was terribly homesick, she just needed a little bit of Hinata sunshine to make her homecoming infinitely warmer...

Stepping off the metallic tunnel and into the waning sunlight bursting through the airport windows felt like home. The warm smell of evening coffee mixed with the long-missed sounds of Japanese chatter gave a small tug at her heart. The sudden familiarity made the vastly different normal of her journeys print itself stronger onto her in the fleeting rush of traveler’s blues. However, the distance between her and her family and friends only made her fonder of returning to gush and share all her wonderful moments from the past three weeks. Although for those who knew and missed her, believed it to feel like three years.

Quickly moving her small carry-on to the side, she swerved out of the traffic of exiting passengers to send a text to her mom to let her know she landed. After a fast reply of “see you soon <3”, she began to traverse through the bustling airport weaving in and out to the baggage claim. All during the plane ride back to Tokyo, [Name]’s mind was filled with excited nostalgia and fond reminiscing. Just before she left Japan, her and her team participated in a grueling, but riveting camp for volleyball against various teams even outside their prefecture. Growing up in Miyagi seemed to shrink her view of what the world was up until this summer. But then again, every view or preconception of hers about the world or of volleyball was utterly shattered ever since becoming assistant manager of the Karasuno’s boys volleyball club. 

Whether it was returning back into the atmosphere of her old middle school sport or meeting so many different personalities that vastly changed her own, she wouldn’t have her past couple months of managing any other way. [Name] became inseparable from her team ever since their crushing blow against Aoba Johsai earlier in the summer. But up until a week before the match, she never expected to be so involved so quickly or even more to become a manager/assistant to the coaches within a week. Her rapid connection with the team of course began with their tangerine sun that united all of them regardless of familiarity, age, or personality. As [Name] strolled past a long line of Starbucks in the airport, she couldn’t help but crack a small smile in remembrance of her first encounter with Hinata Shoyo which involved a great amount of coffee and similar crowds of people.

\--0--

A week before the big match, [Name] decided to try a new route after school before her club meetings to snatch a quick coffee. A brand new coffee shop had opened only a couple blocks away from Karasuno and for the entire day, the students were buzzing with excitement in reaching the hip cafe. After snagging her iced drink and walking back to school, she noticed a small curly head of orange either following her mindlessly through the shortcuts she knew by heart or hopelessly becoming lost in circles around the block. After the young boy (a first year she guessed) nearly crashed into her for the fourth time in the past three minutes, she gave an exasperated huff and said,

“Is there something you want?” Her tone of annoyance might have been a bit too much for her liking and she tried to ignore the small squeak of surprise or fear that emitted from the boy in front of her.

“Um, no, I’m just a bit, well… Kageyama wasn’t supposed to leave me, but he was distracted by his damn milk and now I can’t find him, and I think I’m running late to practice now and what if Daichi-san gets mad at me, and-”

“Woah kid, slow down, I can’t catch all that mumbling,” [Name] chuckled a bit at the boy’s scatterbrain and eased her irritation. “I’m heading back to school, just come with me,” she offered reassuringly. 

She quickly glanced over her shoulder at the smaller boy holding a near empty cup of coffee and before she could do anything else, she felt the light of a thousand suns suddenly brighten her vision. An excited and a too-perfect smile stretched impossibly across the ginger’s freckled face in a blinding ray of energy and happiness. But before [Name] could get any more distracted, the boy started jumping up and down at heights and speeds that seemed inhuman. 

“Really? Thank you, thank you, thank you!! You have no clue how much this helps! Maybe they won’t be too mad at me now! Hey, would you like to watch me practice for a bit? My name is Hinata Shoyo by the way, what’s your name?” His questions and answers and statements flew towards [Name] before she could even answer him, so she just stuck to dazed nods, confused smiles, and eventually a quiet introduction of her name.

“I’m a first year, but I haven’t seen you in any of my classes yet…” Hinata trailed off with a small look of confusion flitting across his features. 

“Well, I would hope not since I’m a second year,” [Name] replied with a calmer tone, now easing into the rhythms of their conversation as they neared the school.

A stricken look took over Hinata as he realized his mistake in honorifics and manners, but before he could open his mouth to release waves of rapid-fire apologies, [Name] cooly responded,

“Don’t worry, I don’t care too much for all those senpais and sans, we’re friends now aren’t we?” After his nonstop rambling for the remaining five minutes of their walk, she would have thought their levels of friendliness increased. She caught the edges of his sunshine smile once more as he nodded vigorously at her quick pardon and she led the way closer and closer to the gym doors.

“Well, here we are. It was really nice meeting you Hinata. Try to not get too lost in the future okay?” [Name] stuck out a hand with a teasing smile, ready to depart from her new friendly acquaintance. He took her hand in a firm shake, but before letting go asking her a quick question that she couldn’t fully hear over the din of volleyballs smacking the gym floor only a few feet away from her.

“Come in and watch me practice, okay?” Hinata asked with a bright smile and before [Name] could weigh the options of her tiredness, her easy admission to his adorable smile, or the duty to her club meeting occurring right now, all those thoughts flew from her mind as she was tugged towards the door with surprising strength. She barely caught the door frame with her hands to stop herself from falling over onto the gym floor before Hinata bounded into the gym shouting,

“Hey guys I’m here!”

Immediately, uproars of teenage shouts and questions interrupted the volleyball practice, all the boys approaching and aiming their inquiries at Hinata.

“Where were you, dumbass? You were supposed to stay by me!” A furious looking boy shouted, only to receive a narrow-eyed miff from Hinata.

“You left me for your stupid milk! It's not my fault.”

“Typical of the king…” A snarky blonde-boy who towered over Hinata shot the milk-boy a mocking sneer, only earning him a frightening scowl back.

“Hey where were you Hinata? You can’t just wander off…” A worried silver-haired boy broke the stare-down, while fretting over his younger teammates’ situation.

“Hinata! How was the coffee shop? We wanted to go, but-” 

“Daichi-san said that ‘volleyball was more important than cute cafe girls…” 

Two boys, one short in stature with a stripe of blond hair falling across his face was interrupted by another saddened teammate with buzzed hair and eyes looking a little glossy at his mention of cute girls. A quick smack upside both of their heads from a severe player ([Name] guessed it to be from the Daichi they were talking about) effectively shut their complaining up. The sheer ridiculousness of Hinata’s situation and the hilarious reactions from his teammates finally caught up to [Name] as she regained her balance and leaned against the doorframe, looking onto the increasingly hyper interactions of Hinata. She, apparently, wasn't the only one to notice his alarmingly rising levels of jumpiness and volume.

“Hinata, you said you got coffee after school right?” another giant boy with his hair in a loose bun spoke up timidly, his realization quickly catching the attention of his teammates. Everyone caught sight of the empty container of coffee and collectively gave a tired sigh.

“Yeah I did! It was super tasty! My mom doesn’t usually let me have caffeine or sugar, but I don’t know why because all the yummy flavors went like BWAH! and BOOM! in my mouth!”

“Oh don’t worry Hinata, I think we all get your mom’s reasoning,” [Name] finally spoke up from the doorway with a tilted smile at the boy’s childish mannerisms.

Although [Name] was usually one to turn away from sudden attention, she couldn’t help but approach the crowd of boys to help Hinata with his caffeine buzz before he drove his teammates to exhaustion during practice. But before she could offer any help to the boy, she felt the curious gazes of his team on her and she looked up at the intimidating volleyball players, finally feeling the scary force of their burning stares. 

“Oh, [Name], I forgot to introduce you,” Hinata smiled cheerfully, oblivious to the flash of social anxiety crossing her face. He instantly rattled off names and years of his teammates with swift points to the boys looking equally as befuddled as [Name] did with the sudden introduction. 

“That’s Sugawara-senpei, Asahi-san, Daichi-san, and… oh Bakeyama,” Hinata added with a distasteful glare to his milk-boy companion. 

[Name] barely remembered any of their names other than the sweet smiling Sugawara, the gentle giant aura of Asahi, and the far-too eager grins of the two second years Tanaka and Nishinoya. She gave a small bow and a nervous smile to the boys before noticing Hinata’s increasing jitters and remembering again what her purpose of approaching the boy was in the first place. 

“Hey Hinata, let's get you some water and I have stuff to bring your coffee buzz down,” she inconspicuously proposed to the boy. 

“But why? The coffee isn’t doing anything to me?” His cutely confused expression melted her just a little bit and before she could fall for his sparkly-eyed stare, she quickly responded,

“I know, but if you drink coffee too fast, like you did, it can make your head and tummy hurt and you don’t want to ruin your practice with that do you?” 

Apparently her comment about the possible stomach ache struck a chord with Hinata as he rushed towards her, suddenly very attentive and wanting her help. A sharp clap from their coach on the other side of the gym gained the boys’ attention, all abruptly standing up straight and ready to return to practice. As she was leading Hinata towards the water fountains and reaching into her bag to retrieve a pill bottle of aspirin to slow down the impending coffee headaches he was sure to get, she glanced up at his older senpais and caught their silent thank you ‘s. The kind gazes from her upperclassmen brought a small flush to her cheeks as she caught the adorable mole rising near Sugawara-san’s eye in a relieved grin and the shy, but grateful smile of Asahi-san. But thankfully for her quick thinking, practice went somewhat smoothly, only ending in a mild combination sugar and caffeine crash for Hinata and having Kageyama drag him home. 

\--0--

Her pleasant rememberings were interrupted, however, at her arrival towards the sliding doors to the baggage claim. [Name] checked her texts to see any updates from her mother, but her responses only confused her. She had arrived back home just in time for the second day of the Shinzen High training camp that was taking place only thirty minutes away from the airport, and she was naturally expecting her mother to take her there. What she wasn’t expecting was a shocking notification from her mom saying that she would see her in a week. But before [Name] could panic at her utter horror of her circumstances with no transportation, another text lit up her phone as she stood frozen in momentary fear at the baggage claim. Her mother warmly sent- Don’t worry, there are people waiting in baggage claim for you to take you to Shinzen. They shouldn’t be too hard to find… 

For the first time since [Name]’s frenzy of anxiety took over her mind, she looked up and darted her eyes everywhere in the packed area in hopes of recognizing someone, anyone to save her from this isolated nightmare. Through the bustling crowds, she desperately tried to crane her head over others to spot any familiar face to whisk her away from here, but to no avail. Finally, though, like a wonderful light in the darkness, [Name] caught sight of brilliant orange hair bouncing constantly through the crowd. The fiery curls and faint dusting of freckles were immistable even from a distance, and with a new surge of determination, [Name] pushed forwards toward her best friend. Her surprise at his appearance in the airport was quickly abandoned at the knowledge of his powerful cuteness that effectively put a spell on even the most strict of adults or volleyball captains. She had no doubt that it worked to get him here, but why was he by himself? Is he never supervised? She was going to wring Kageyama the next time she saw his seemingly inseparable volleyball partner.  
Just as she was about to call out his name over the din, almost telepathically, his soft head of curls whipped around in her direction and caught her frantic expression. Hinata’s small face erupted into one of the most potent smiles she had seen yet and he gave a great yell of excitement before bouncing towards her.

“[Name]!!!” 

Luckily she had let go of her carry-on just in time to catch his tiny body in her arms giving him the tightest and warmest hug that she had been anticipating for the past three weeks. After myriad mumblings of “I missed you so much” from the both of them, [Name] pulled away from him only to be hoisted mid-air into another tight hug by a third pair of arms. The bulky muscles didn’t belong to her Karasuno companions she realized, but they still felt familiar. A loud rumble of energetic laughter from the person vibrated through Hinata and [Name] as they both were held flush to their chest. 

“Oya, oya, oya! I hope you didn’t miss me too much [Name]-chan!” [Name] gasped at the person’s ecstatic intensity she knew so well from her time at the Tokyo camp, and she looked up in chuckling disbelief at the massive teen holding them all close.

“Bokuto-san?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Hope y'all liked the little cliffhanger towards the end! Everything about the characters from the earlier Tokyo camp and their encounters with [Name] will be explained through flashbacks and memories in chapters to come. Don't forget to kudos and I'd love to get any comments or feedback!!! Thank uuuuu <333


	2. Miracles & Muscles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> meet the airport gang, plus a flashback to first encounters with Bokuto and Akaashi and the chaos that ensued!

Cheekily smiling down at [Name] and Hinata, Bokuto gave one last squeeze to the both of them before letting their feet touch the ground once more. [Name] was stuttering pieces of sentences, trying to comprehend how Bokuto was here now.

“But.. how... ?”

“We’re here to take you to Shinzen [Name]!” Hinata announced loudly, tugging on [Name]’s loose Karasuno zip-up with excitement, “we took the train here and we almost got lost in the lower levels of the airport, but we found everyone else just before you got here!”

Another surprise jolted [Name]’s attention back to the boy’s ramblings. It was no shock that Hinata and Bokuto would get lost in a crowded space as their attention spans and self-control around any distraction was about as weak as their spikes were strong. However, it was a shock that there was an everyone like Hinata mentioned, to find them. Who else could possibly be here? The only other remotely responsible person that would undoubtedly handle Bokuto’s and Hinata’s overflowing energy was-

“Akaashi!! Look who I found!” 

“I can see her Bokuto-san,” Akaashi responded with his usual calm demeanor and a bit of a relieved sigh. 

[Name] was glad to hear his quiet voice in the loudness of their surroundings and she had turned towards him with a grateful smile. But as she faced the approaching setter, another dark-haired boy flanked his side wearing a signature smirk and the bright red fabric of his school’s team. 

“And here I thought that Chibi-chan was the more responsible crow here,” Kuroo teased, “looks like even a manager can get lost.” 

“Shut up bed head, at least my team has a manager.” [Name] quipped back with a joking smile. 

After playing Nekoma and practicing with them for weeks through training camps and practice games, [Name] was quick to admit her growing fondness of the vivacious team that matched nearly every wiry quirk of Karasuno’s. But seeing yet another familiar face after so long was reason enough for [Name] to smile back brightly and give friendly hugs of warm greetings and nudges to her unexpected escorts to the camp. However, even after seeing the Nekoma captain, she felt as though something were missing, like there was a strange absence among them. Kuroo picked up on her slight confusion and realized with a huff, before calling out behind him.

“Oi Kenma get over here!” 

At his words, [Name] and Hinata brightened at the mention of their shy friend, one whom they had connected with at a strangely fast rate according to Kuroo. Without missing a beat, Hinata surged towards the boy hiding behind the lanky figure of Kuroo and pulled the blonde boy towards [Name] so suddenly that Kenma had to actually look up from his videogame to make sure he didn’t bump into anyone. At his appearance, [Name] rushed over to him and pulled him into a tight hug that happened as quickly as the small flush of red surfaced on the boy’s cheeks before hiding behind his curtain-like bangs. His quick shrug off of her hug didn’t deter any of her enthusiasm though, as she knew full well of his awkwardness when it came to touching. 

“Three weeks away from my favorite pudding head and still you’re as stubborn as ever with hugs,” [Name] jested with a tilted grin. 

She couldn’t help but lean into his slight discomfort at the sudden attention; she missed the funny way Kenma would roll his eyes with a hint of a smile gracing his features. 

“Didn’t you miss me Kenma?” She dragged the 'miss' out cheekily hoping to get his routine reaction, but Hinata’s whiny tone of voice cut short [Name]’s antics.

“[Name]-chan I thought I was your favorite….” 

“Shoyo, he’s my favorite puddinghead boy, you’re my favorite ginger boy.”

Her unabashed compliment to her small friend lit his whole face with a boyish blush and his jittering frenzy returned in tenfold along with Bokuto in hopes of getting glowing praise from the amiable manager. 

With her suitcases handled by her friends and her traveling bag slung over her tired shoulders, [Name] finally emerged into the bright noon sun of Tokyo. As all six teens waited at the crosswalk before the train station, [Name] felt as though for the first time in three weeks she could take a full breath. Inhaling the gritty but electric city air, mixed with the inevitable sweetness of the summer season made her first moments of home better than she could ever imagine. The sudden blast of sticky July humidity however left the girl peeling off her jacket, letting the familiar city breezes bristle her arms and through the swirls of her hair. 

The cackling laughs of Kuroo, Hinata, and Bokuto in response to the dry comments and sarcastic lines from Akaashi and Kenma only added to the hilarity of their anecdotes from their first moments at the training camp that [Name] missed. And for the first time in a long while, [Name] let out a great hearty laugh at their goofiness that caught the attention of all five boys, surprised but undoubtedly overjoyed to hear that sound after so long. Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, [Name] widened her eyes from their crinkled mirth to find her friends staring at her now a bit strangely.

“What's wrong? Is there something on my face?” She asked, but halted her questions when she realized that they weren’t staring at her face, rather anywhere but. 

“My eyes are up here…” she snarkily commented, catching Hinata’s and Bokuto’s obnoxious stares. 

“[Name]-chan you changed,” Bokuto said with a nod after looking over her figure again as if giving himself a final confirmation in his statement. However, before she could send another confused look at the gray-haired captain, Akaashi rolled his eyes in mild irritation.

“Obviously she’s changed Bokuto-san, she left the country for three weeks.”

“What he means is that you look different,” Kuroo translated for Bokuto. 

“Yeah [Name] you got really tan and your hair got lighter and you just look so pretty!” Hinata blurted without hesitation. 

Now it was [Name]’s turn to blush furiously at the sudden direct compliment. In her fluster though, she didn’t quite catch the other boys shyly nodding or humming their agreement with Hinata’s sunshiney words. But her fluster was cut short by another out-of-the-blue statement from Shoyo.

“What's that though?” his curiosity persisted with a small finger pointing at the white sliver of a scar stretching over the top of her fitted tank in a lightning crack mark across her tanned skin. His oblivious questioning caught the attention of Kenma who peeked up from his lit screen to lightly scold Shoyo. 

“Don’t point Sho,” he mumbled with a bright flush on his cheeks at his next words, “especially not there.” 

At the sudden focus on her scar, [Name] seemed to flinch so briefly that some of the boys took it to be a strange shiver in the breeze, before plastering a wide smile and snorting out a laugh that seemed carefree and casual to Hinata’s question. 

“It's a battle scar from my fight with a shark in the ocean Hinata!” [Name] dramatically announced, loving the way his eyes seemed to widen impossibly for a millisecond at her words before turning into a disappointed pout at his own gullibleness. 

“Not funny [Name]...” 

“I’m just kidding with you, but I’ll tell you the real story later if you tell me everything that happened since I’ve been gone.” She ruffled his hair, hoping to distract him and veer into a new conversation topic.

But to the watchful, piercing eyes of Kenma, Akaashi and even Kuroo, the hidden truth of her action did not go unnoticed and neither did her shifting avoidance from their perplexed gazes. 

\--0--

“So how was your trip?” Bokuto and Hinata bombarded [Name] with alternating questions on the rattling train, their eyes growing wider and more energized by the second.

“What was Maui like?”

“Lower your voices please, we’re in public,” Akaashi firmly reminded the two boys. They returned to excited whispers. 

“Did you bring back any cool stuff?”

“Did you play beach volleyball?”

“How about I save all my storytelling for tonight and you tell me everything I missed in the past three weeks?” [Name] offered to the two boys, hoping to catch a brief rest after travelling for so long. 

Without hesitation, Hinata, Bokuto, and Kuroo launched into their multi-perspective narratives of the past weeks in their respective teams. Hinata described almost every single detail from the moment the devastating Aoba Johsai match ended, speaking dynamically of the remainder of the training camp that she missed when she left early to Maui. Kuroo and Bokuto continued on telling her all of the many improvements that Karasuno, Nekoma, and Fukurodani were enduring in between. [Name] caught the edges of Hinata’s quieter, but still excited tone of voice mentioning words like “synchronized attack” and “old Coach Ukai”. Nodding to every trivial or important anecdote that left Hinata’s mouth, she slowly felt her eyes struggling to stay open, the rhythmic rocking of the train was beckoning her closer and closer to much needed sleep. 

Eventually though, all her volleyball companions settled into seats next to her as the train emptied out at a stop leaving only one continuous, long stretch to Shinzen. On [Name]’s left side, Hinata was still squished next to Kenma who tapped away at his electronic device as he nodded absentmindedly to Kuroo’s low chatter. Bokuto slid himself into the empty seat next to [Name], with Akaashi trailing behind and taking the seat over as well. Both chatterboxes seemed to barely sit back in their seats as they leaned towards [Name] playfully arguing about volleyball, only interrupted by Kuroo’s snarky comments that elicited a whining, “Akaashiii” from Bokuto hoping to get some back up from his setter. But as Bokuto leaned closer and closer to [Name] and the train rocked steadier and steadier, she found it impossible to simply not close her eyes for just a moment and rest against the nearest comfortable surface. 

Truth be told, the comfortable surface was Bokuto’s muscular shoulder which stiffened only slightly as the sudden feathery weight of the sleeping girl’s cheek adorably pressed against his sleeve. At the halting of Hinata’s and his conversation, the other boys looked to find the reason for their abrupt silence. Seeing the softened features of the normally mischievous girl now breathing small snores, Hinata couldn’t help but blurt out what the other boys were thinking. 

“Aw, she looks so cute!” 

Kenma piped up from his screen now flashing defeat, “Bokuto-san you better not move or else you’ll wake her.”

Bokuto gave a swift, determined nod before relaxing back in his chair to make her more comfortable. Willing his body not to fidget for the rest of the ride, he couldn’t help but feel a small da-thump in his chest (as Hinata would say) with her resting against him. And unbeknownst to him, [Name]’s heart gave a similar da-thump as she dreamt about her first encounter with the silver-haired boy and his quiet companion. 

\--0--

Her first day at the Tokyo training camp began as any other joint practice match. Unbridled collective love for the sport was palpable in the gym air already smelling of salonpas. Although their trip began painfully early from Miyagi, the bus ride was strangely peaceful without the loud bickering from Hinata and Kageyama. Even so, [Name] still missed their chaotic racket that she found a little endearing, preferring it to the endless grumblings from a certain blonde whose rude complaints surpassed his height. A smile graced her features as she remembered Hinata embarrassingly admitting his failing grade that kept him back from the camp. 

But even through Karasuno’s morning games in Tokyo, the “freak duo” (as Coach Ukai nicknamed them) and their absence was slowing the progress of their teammates. It didn’t take long for the other teams to catch onto the very different plays and losses from Karasuno. Kuroo’s sly teasing towards Daichi was ruffling more than a few feathers after their third round of flying laps. 

“So Shrimpy really couldn’t make it because of his failing grades,” mused Kuroo to the Karasuno upperclassmen on a break between matches. 

“Yeah, but honestly is that so surprising?” Suga responded next to [Name], taking the water bottle she offered him. 

“I’d be surprised to not hear tiny volleyballs going ka-boing in his tiny head when he flies past me at practice,” [Name] muttered with a chuckle. 

Her witty comment earned her several laughs from Suga, Asahi, Kuroo, Yaku and even Daichi who all remembered Hinata’s sometimes oblivious energy.

“So wait,” Kuroo interrupted the small bouts of laughter, “you can understand Shorty’s little sound effects language?”

“Correction, I’m the glorified translator of his gibberish,” [Name] snorted, “and I don’t even know how I know it. I think the little shrimp is ka-boinging volleyballs in my brain.”

“Oh I love when the ball makes that sound!” An unfamiliar voice crowed loudly only a few feet away from [Name]’s circle of friends. 

[Name] couldn’t help but do a small double take at the teen’s extraordinary appearance from his impossibly toned muscles stretching to pick up a stray ball to his golden eyes and his owlish white-gray hair. 

“You understand those sounds?” [Name] asked, a bit disbelieving that anyone could possibly match Hinata’s quirkiness. 

“Yeah! I always hear sounds like ka-POW or WHOOSH when I hit the ball because I’m the ace,” the boy bellowed and pointed at himself proudly before noticing his bedhead friend, “Hey, hey, hey! Kuroo, how are you, it's been a while!” 

Kuroo grinned widely at the loud boy, moving to sling a lazy arm around his bulky shoulder and introduce him to his friends who tried to cover their initial shock that someone in their volleyball league was as wacky as Hinata.

“You guys haven’t played Bokuto’s team yet, but he’s the ace from-”

“Fukurodani,” [Name] cut in, as the sudden connection with his birdlike features and the wordplay of his school’s name clicked in her head. 

“How’d you know?” Bokuto asked, eyes alight with child-like bewilderment. [Name] was still obviously eyeing his spiky hair that began to take shape in her vision as small wings when she gave a tilted smile and answered,

“Lucky guess.” Suga caught her gaze to his hair and bit back a laugh as well. 

“Well, if I remember correctly, Karasuno is playing Fukurodani right now so we should all go start warm ups,” Daichi said. 

As Karasuno and Fukurodani quickly assembled their hitting lines on either side of the court, [Name] was assisting Kiyoko and Yachi in their normal manager duties, interrupted every once in a while to idly chat with the boys in line. Meanwhile, Bokuto’s voice easily bounded across their court as loudly as his volleyballs that would frighteningly smack down a bit too close to Yachi and [Name] for comfort. [Name] was trying to assess Fukurodani’s strengths, weaknesses and tactics from their dynamic across the net, but with Bokuto’s scatterbrained energy mixed with his lethal hits she struggled to find a pattern with the rest of his team. It was only when the dark-haired setter spoke words of seemingly emotionless encouragement to his ace did [Name] finally understand the balance. After the third ball of Bokuto’s to fly out of bounds he let out a whining,

“Akaashi, why is it not working?” 

So that's the setter’s name. 

“Bokuto-san try your cross shot next, it’ll impress them.” And like flipping a switch, Bokuto gathered his strength again. 

[Name] moved closer to the ten-foot line on the court, hoping to sneak a look at the precision and break down bit by bit the ace’s famed cross cut shot. Yachi, however crowded the edge of court as she was bent over one of Noya’s shoes, both of them trying to untangle the mess of laces that Tanaka tied together in a stupid prank. Neither of the small teens heard or paid attention to Bokuto’s approach to the net for his harsh spike or they would have realized that they were directly in the line of fire.

In a panic, [Name] surged forward desperate to protect either of them from getting slammed by the ball and out of habit from the basic training she received from the little guardian deity, she extended her arms ready to dig the ball. She jumped and stretched her body horizontally over a crouched Yachi just in time to feel the sting of Bokuto’s powerful spike on her forearms before curving her body into Noya’s infamous rolling thunder move. Her body rolled effortlessly (although for her, this much sudden movement was exhaustive) across the floor, propelling her back into a low position, bending her knees. Panting hard, she rose making furious eye contact with a gobsmacked Bokuto and caught the falling ball that had popped up vertically from her near perfect receive.

Silence enveloped the court as she warned Bokuto through gritted teeth,

“Watch where you aim.”

With a chilling note in her voice, a strong motherly aura surrounded the girl as she tossed the ball back to the ace with a rough thud and his hand stopped it from knocking into his chest harshly. All of her volleyball friends erupted in raucous laughter, shrieking awe or loud admiration at her actions. The sudden explosion of sound pulled [Name] out of her protective fury. Tanaka and Noya were instantly pouncing on her, ruffling her hair, shouting their praise for their beloved manager. They became so excited at her shy smile from their words that [Name] swore she saw tears pooling their impossibly wide eyes. 

“You’re so badass [Name]-chan!” Tanaka yelled, gasping when [Name] gave him a soft pat on his buzzed head. 

“I’ve been touched by the beautiful hands of [Name],” Tanaka sputtered, eyes in a daze. Noya immediately ushered a thousand thanks to his protector before launching to hold Tanaka’s head, rubbing his hands on it muttering,

“I need to grasp any leftover sweetness…”

“Will you two shut up!” Daichi roared at them next to a double-overed Suga heaving between laughs. Asahi and Yamaguchi were even trying to hold back their laughter at the ridiculous hysterics that just occurred. 

On the other side of the net, contrary to how [Name] thought Bokuto would react to her infuriated scolding, he only became more excited. Among the Karasuno players, he swept under the net and asked her,

“How’d you get that?! No one can usually pick up my cross shots!”

[Name] was about to lash out a scathing remark on his carelessness but hesitated once she caught sight of his setter shaking his head vigorously over Bokuto’s shoulder. 

“Just be more careful, okay?” [Name] conceded, finding it to be too difficult to stay mad at the boy for long. He nodded and hurried off to his side like a hyper puppy. 

“I can’t guarantee that his promise will be kept,” spoke the setter’s soft voice. Eyeing him warily, she turned to Bokuto’s companion ([Name] couldn’t help but think that his long lashes and dark features framing his angular face made him unfairly pretty). 

“Once his excitement levels reach this high, his control decreases dramatically for a period of about thirty minutes.”

“Akaashi-san, I didn’t need Bokuto statistics and calculations,” [Name] joked.

“I know, but I just thought I’d warn you because those cross shots will be coming down harder and more unexpected.” 

[Name] couldn’t help but warm at the boy’s thoughtfulness.

“I’ll try to control him as much as possible, but right now he seems to be really wired.”

Studying his focused profile and recalling his nimble movements and quick thinking on the court, Fukurodani’s structure became clearer to [Name].

“Ah, so you’re the brains of the team, strategically guiding the blood to the brawny muscles.” 

Very uncharacteristically, Akaashi flushed slightly at the sudden compliment, unused to praise much less it coming from a pretty girl. 

“You’re starting to sound like Kuroo,” he muttered, turning his head away in mild embarrassment. She chuckled at his chagrin, nudging him friendly and thanking him for his kind warning. 

The first points of the game went relatively smoothly, Bokuto’s out of control swings only scaring some members of her team, thankfully not hitting them. However as one ball grazed Tanaka’s side and another hit Daichi gruffly in the stomach, her patience with the ace was thinning fast. On the other hand, the players on both sides didn’t think much of the stray balls, and they were rather amused by the ace's and [Name]'s exchange. Bouts of shouting would interrupt the game every few minutes as Bokuto would rejoice over a spike and [Name] would either cheer his success in injuring no one or remind him of his mistakes.

“Keep it in the court bird boy!”

“Akaashi, do I look like a bird?”

“Bokuto-san you look like a mighty owl.”

“That's what I think too!”

The increasingly strange dynamic between the Karasuno manager and hyperactive Fukurodani ace was fatiguing more than just the receiving end of his tireless spikes. It looked like even Akaashi was barely keeping up with Bokuto. 

“If one more ball hits a player Bokuto, I swear I’m going to deck someone and it’ll be a miracle if it's not you.” [Name] threatened, exasperated at the fifth ball somehow hitting another member of her team. 

And as if the next ball was sent by fate from Akaashi’s trained fingers to Bokuto’s massive hand, the volleyball slammed across the net, onto the court, and straight into the face of the one and only Tsukishima. The court went deadly quiet for the second time that day.

“Well, there’s your miracle, [Name].” Suga finally broke the spell, voice light with astonishment and cracking with the strength he needed to keep his laughs from spilling out.

With glasses hanging askew and a reddened face from the embarrassment and sting of Bokuto’s spike, Tsuki’s displeased glare that he shot across the court was a thousand times more fiercer than usual. Everyone was just waiting excruciating seconds to pass until [Name] would erupt into a seething fit of rage once more, but it never came. As she took in the truly bizarre events that unfolded in front of her, in addition to the absolute exhaustion that came with trying to control Bokuto’s personality she couldn’t help but laugh. She let out a great hysterical explosion of laughter, falling on her knees and holding her stomach. Looking up at the now somewhat humbled blond giant, she felt tears of mirth streak down her face. After recovering from the brief shock of seeing their manager maniacally laughing at the pitiful situation, the rest of the court quickly burst into fits of laughter as well. Noya and Tanaka both leaned on Tsuki as they wheezed their teases at him, while Bokuto roared with laughter after offering an apology. Akaashi caught [Name]’s hilarious gaze and after checking with Tsuki and offering a more sincere apology on behalf of his team, he too let out an amused chuckle.

\--0--

It was that same sound that woke [Name] from her dreaming state of memories. The sweet setter was chuckling at something Bokuto had said, just as the train finally came to a halt.

“Are we here?” [Name] mumbled, voice still groggy from sleep. 

“Just arrived in Shinzen, so let's go Sleepyhead,” Kuroo rose and stretched his long limbs, then led all six of the chattering teens towards the school away from the station. 

After struggling with her suitcases for most of the walk, they finally reached the gleaming high school. [Name] already felt herself getting closer and closer to her team, it was a feeling so natural to her now and it felt like coming home.

“This sweaty facility reeking of hormonal teenage boys will be your home for the next week, are you excited?” Kenma dryly remarked to [Name] as they reached the school’s front doors. 

“I’m just glad to be home.” She replied with a keen nod.

“Karasuno’s your home silly,” Hinata reminded her. With a tender smile and quick hug to her tangerine boy she added,

“Exactly. The team is my home and I’m finally back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel free to leave kudos and comments I love hearing feedback!!! thank uuuu<3333


	3. Souvenirs & Swimsuits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reunion with her favorite crows is finally here! [Name] gives her souvenirs and gifts from Maui to all of her Karasuno, Nekoma, and Fukurodani boys, but a moment of embarrassment comes by surprise, making the night much more memorable.

With a tired slump of her multiple bags to the floor of her shared room with the other managers, the full force of [Name]’s exhaustion from her twenty hour flight hit her. She was barely able to have the strength to tug a futon out and mumble a quiet thank you to her friends who all stood near the door. The normally intimidating group of all-star players now fidgeted awkwardly at the threshold to the only girls room in the whole camp; the sweet smells of perfume and the organized feminine touch of the room went straight to their hormonal heads. Kuroo moved to help [Name] with her futon but stopped abruptly trying his best to hold in his laughter at her current position. Her foot caught on the edges of another blanket so falling first into the pillow not even bothering to rest correctly on the futon, [Name] instantly fell asleep, letting out a loud snore. 

“I guess the jet lag finally hit her,” Kenma said quietly to the empty room save for her sleeping form. 

“Who’s leg hit her?!” Bokuto and Hinata shouted, alarmed at the possible harm coming to their beloved manager and friend. 

Both of their sudden outbursts were muffled by the immediate hands of Akaashi and Kenma as Kuroo closed the door of [Name]’s room after gently smiling at her unconscious figure. 

Hours later, after a much needed sleep, [Name] woke to the overwhelming scent of meat and cooked rice filling her nostrils. She opened her eyes to see her fellow manager Yachi putting a plate of dinner next to her futon. 

“Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up!” She said nervously. But [Name] didn’t care, she had missed her first year companion dearly and instantly rose and enveloped her in a massive hug. 

“I missed you [Name],” Yachi said softly into her friend’s hair. 

“Where’s Kiyoko?” [Name] asked the small blonde excitedly, now fully awake. 

“I’m right here,” the pretty older girl said from the doorway, a gentle smile gracing her lips.

“Kiyoko!” [Name] pulled her down on the floor to take both of the girls into a tight hug. 

After catching up with her friends as she rapidly shoveled down food (not realizing how hungry she was) she got more coherent pieces of news and updates then she did from Bokuto and Hinata. Yachi recalled with a bit of a terrified look on her face the fight that broke out between Kageyama and Hinata only a few hours after [Name] left for Maui. 

So that's why Hinata didn’t talk about him or bring him to the airport- [Name] connected the dots in her head. But as Yachi continued to mention more and more players from Karasuno, [Name] was filled with longing after being away from them for so long. After Yachi had told her of the endless shenanigans of Noya and Tanaka that occurred, [Name] teased Kiyoko as a light blush dusted her normally stoic features at the mention of the buzzcut boy. 

“Where are those losers anyway? I’ve been meaning to give them a bone-crushing hug ever since I got here,” [Name] asked, ready to finally be reunited with her team. 

“They are all probably in their room getting ready for bed, you’ve got an hour or so until lights out,” Kiyoko checked her watch. [Name] quickly dug through her messy suitcase lying a few feet away from her to grab a massive bag filled to the brim with miscellaneous objects. She could only send a look of I’ll explain later to the other managers before sweeping Yachi and Kiyoko up to lead her to Karasuno’s room. 

Just as they were approaching the noisy room, [Name] could clearly hear Noya’s and Hinata’s hyper voices probably fangirling over a spike or libero move they saw from one of Ukai’s videos. Daichi’s low voice could be heard trying to shush them to settle down before sleep, but to no avail as [Name] heard Suga’s amused teasing only egging the boys on further. Tsuki’s and Yamaguchi’s snickers could be heard through the door as well at Kageyama’s frustration at being forced to sleep next to Hinata. Peeking through the small slit of the open door, [Name] saw the late night chaos unfold in its full power, but regardless her heart gave a great leap at finally seeing the faces of her closest friends. However, entertained by the current madness of the Karasuno club, she decided to let their antics continue for a bit longer.

“He’ll kick me in his sleep, he never settles down!” The first year setter grumbled loudly.

“Is the King not satisfied with the sleeping arrangements?” Tsuki taunted him.

“You’re not helping Tsuki…” Asahi said exasperated and still anxiously fretting over the increasingly jumpy Noya despite the late hour. At the sound of his deep, but warm voice, [Name]’s stomach did a strange flip. Apparently three weeks away made certain voices sound even more interesting than they were before. 

“No, Asahi, all the first year losers need to be humbled just like their senpais did before them,” Tanaka said with an exaggerated air of pride and smugness that made [Name] nearly laugh out loud. The mere sight of the boisterous boy suddenly becoming serious and demanding respect while standing arms crossed in only his boxers made [Name] throw the door open.

“Well, not much has changed Tanaka, you’re still the loser I met last year,” [Name] joked loudly to the now silent room, disbelieving that their manager was finally standing before them. And as if a bomb went off, the boys hurdled over sleeping futons and athletic bags, yelling and trying to get to [Name] first.

“[Name]-chan!!!” A blinding smile lit her features as she opened her arms to greet them all, however, she completely underestimated the strength and momentum of the teenagers. The second they reached her, they tackled her to the ground in a giant hug, all of them falling in a heap in the hallway. The sudden burst of noise reached the nearby rooms and soon the confused heads of Nekoma and Fukurodani were peeking out to see what had happened. But once they saw the pile of giddy teens sprawled in the hall and [Name] buried underneath all of it, they came out to greet her. 

Although [Name] was being crushed by the clean-smelling (for once) bodies of her team, she couldn’t help but laugh loudly. She had missed this so much and as she caught the grinning gazes of Daichi, Asahi, and even Tsukki and Kageyama, she squeezed her friends tighter. But after gasps of pleasant surprise and wonderstruck realization from Noya and Tanaka at being embraced against [Name]’s chest, she quickly shoved them off.

“You perverts, I see nothing has changed,” [Name] stood up, dusting herself off. 

“I swear they can never calm down,” Suga said next to [Name] with a tired smile. 

Finally freed from the mess of boys on the floor, she flung her arms around her silver-haired friend missing his gentle, but lighthearted demeanor. But nothing was gentle about his reaction. She felt his body stiffen under her grasp and when she caught the seemingly envious glares from Tanaka, Noya, and even Daichi and Asahi, she pulled back in surprise.

“What’s wrong-“

“Woah [Name]! Let’s wait till marriage for that okay?!” Suga sputtered, face red with a furious blush. 

Seeing such an embarrassed and flustered look on him especially after the ridiculousness of his panic made another laugh bubble up from [Name]’s stomach. 

“It's just a hug!” [Name] reassured him through laughs. 

Proving her point she gave all of her teammates warm hugs in greeting, even to Asahi who grew increasingly anxious at her arms wrapping around him and her head being in such close proximity to his chest. But just as she was sauntering into their room to unpack her bag of goodies for her friends, she felt her feet leave the ground as arms crossed around her middle, picking her up. 

“[Name]-chan I missed you! I grew while you were gone!” 

At the mention of height, [Name] only knew one person that excited about height and stupid enough to embrace one of Karasuno’s managers without permission from her protective teammates. 

“Seriously Lev what the hell are you eating?” [Name] said only mildly annoyed that her bag fell to the floor and that her midriff was slowly being exposed to her team as his arms slid her shirt up slightly. 

“I almost convinced him to eat rocks, but Kuroo stopped me,” Kenma grumbled from behind the towering Russian teen. Letting out a snort of laughter, [Name] quipped back, 

“Just wait Kenma, he might do it on his own.” 

“Hey! [Name]-channn…” Lev complained, but [Name] catching a small smirk on Kenma’s face was worth the insult to Lev. 

As all of the boys gathered around her in a circle, the three teams barely fit in the room together, let alone Bokuto’s exuding energy as he just bounded in. [Name] started carefully unpacking the bag’s contents on a small table, not wanting to damage any of her gifts. But she forgot about the fluttering folder and small camera that flopped out of her bag.

“What's that [Name]?” Kuroo asked curiously, pointing at the objects.

“Just some photos that a girl took of me and other campers while we surfed or--”

But [Name] nearly dropped the wrapped gift as she realized with a jolt of embarrassment what most of the photos actually looked like. 

“WAIT!” [Name] yelled, lunging at Hinata who sat next to Kuroo and was holding the folder, milliseconds away from opening it. All heads spun at her sudden outburst.

“Don’t open it!” Hinata looked both as scared and confused at her unusual tone of helling as [Name] felt. But his fear quickly melted into his trademark mischievous grin as he flipped it open. [Name]’s eyes widened in horror at his cheeky move, before launching her body at the boy.

“Give it back!” But Hinata had already stolen a glance at the photos, now swerving out of the way of [Name] as she thudded on the floor next to him. 

The image of [Name] in a blue patterned bikini jumping in the waves burned in Hinata’s innocent eyes and the mortifying flood of teenage hormones made him very shy to the interested looks from his friends. He sat up, blushing furiously and for once speechless in embarrassment. 

“Hinata….”[Name] groaned face first into the carpet. 

“What the hell did you see Shorty?” joked Kuroo.

“You’re super red Shoyo,” Lev pointed out.

“I mean I know [Name]’s bedhead is bad-”

“You’re one to talk,” mumbled Kenma. 

“But it can’t be that-” Kuroo’s jesting tone died in his throat when he flipped the folder open. 

[Name] lunged again at the rooster head, clawing to grab it, but with his long arms and a slightly agape mouth, he held it out of reach, sliding his thumb to see more pictures. Kenma caught sight of the pictures of the girl gliding on a white-tipped turquoise wave but all he could see was [Name]’s tanned body, very exposed in her swimsuit and glistening with salt water. The other pictures of her in the Maui waters, smiling brightly with bikini-clad girls, her laughter seeming to be frozen in time, made the stomachs of the three Nekoma boys do funny flips. Kenma had to smack the back of Lev’s head to revert both of their eyes, but red blushes were already prominent on their faces. And surprisingly, for the ever-smooth captain, the apples of Kuroo’s cheeks tinged pink as he mindlessly passed the folder to fellow Captain Daichi and a confused Suga much to [Name]’s frustration.

A shocked squeak from Asahi behind them spoke for the three’s reactions: Daichi stilled in uncharacteristic fluster, Suga had to turn away and bite his tongue before he gave [Name] a compliment that would only embarrass her further. Asahi reached and slammed it shut with too much force sending it to the worst possible boys to open it. 

Tanaka and Noya quickly opened it and landed their gazes on the photos before [Name] could snatch it. They both gave a yell of pure joy and adoration before passing out from sheer excitement, blood trickling from their noses. But their hysterical fall backwards sent the wretched folder flying into the air and the photos that were so different and unlike [Name] fluttered everywhere. 

[Name] let out a shriek when Bokuto broke the stunned silence with an absolutely clueless but so perfectly Bokuto comment,

“[Name] I didn’t know you liked polka dots.”

Akaashi hid his flushed face in his hands after giving Bokuto a withering look of pity as he made no move to defend him against [Name]’s wrath. But as a chorus of booming laughter came from Kuroo, Lev and surprisingly Tsukkishima (who openly revelled in his stubborn manager’s humiliation), the tension melted away. 

“Just for that, you’re getting your gift first,” [Name] said with vengeful conviction contrasting the sudden pleasant expression on her face. 

“But I didn’t do anythi- Wait, I get my gift?!” He grinned in childish anticipation and pride to a pouting Hinata and baffled Akaashi.

“Shouldn’t you be punishing him [Name]-san?” Akaashi asked, questioning her strange kindness, but one glance at the wicked gleam in her smile gave him his answer. 

“Bokuto I want you to close your eyes and only open them when I tell you to,” she caught Kuroo smirking in the corner, picking up a little on her plan. But before he could let out a snicker at the karma coming his friend’s way, [Name] got an idea,

“Kuroo, you too.” A flash of surprise and a bit of fear flickered across his handsome features. He opened his mouth to argue and give [Name] a polite decline, but her sickly sweet voice interrupted him,

“Don’t you want my gift?” 

Winking to the side at Kenma, he caught on and the boy’s socked foot pushed Kuroo’s backside closer to her. The dark-haired captain stood next to his idiot owl friend who got him into this mess in the first place, sending a scowl to Bokuto’s oblivious grin. [Name] said to the whole room,

“You will all get your gifts in a minute, but first,” then turning to Kuroo and Bokuto, “you two, take off your shirts.” Shouts of protest and yells of flushed embarrassment rang through the room again, but [Name] rolled her eyes and interrupted.

“I’m not a pervert! I bought them clothes and I want them to try them on so I know it fits.” 

Her annoyed explanation quieted the ruffled boys. She grabbed her bag and moved towards the now shirtless boys, forcing her gaze to not fall below their necks, but faltering slightly when she glanced at Kuroo’s subtle flex of his biceps. And by the smirk on his face, it was not accidental. 

“Kenma turn off the lights,” [Name] muttered, refusing to grow flustered in her schemes, “ I want it to be a surprise.” Although you could hardly call it clothing, [Name] thought it to be clever payback, she just needed her scheme to be done unseen. The room was plunged into darkness and the only sounds were the confused mumblings between boys.

[Name] quickly got to work, deftly tying strings around necks blindly at impressive speed on the two towering figures only differing by the shadows of their hair. She only hesitated and fumbled awkwardly when reaching around their torsos to tie the top in the middle of their backs. She struggled with Bokuto simply because of the sheer bulk of his muscles that had her pressing her burning face into his bare taut chest. But in typical Bokuto fashion, without an ounce of awkwardness he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled the top of her head with his chin in a warm hug. She silently thanked the gods that it was pitch black so the bright blush on her features that mimicked every boys’ face moments ago wouldn’t have been pointed out. 

With Kuroo however, his lean frame didn’t inhibit her quick tying around his back and him slyly sneaking in a quick hug was expected. What wasn’t expected though was when she reached around his neck to finish off tying, after seconds of struggling to grasp her other hand due to his height, she suddenly caught the other string easily. She only remained confused for a moment before she felt a wisp of warm breath hit her cheek. In surprise she shifted her weight back, pulling the boy towards her with her hands joined at the back of his neck. Both of them froze right as the dimmest of lights from the hallway streaked a yellowish glow on their shocked faces. [Name] could make out the widened gaze peeking out from under Kuroo’s flop of messy dark hair and he could clearly see the amber honey light making pretty shadows on the soft surface of her face that bloomed in a blush. He resisted the urge to trace a finger along the contrasting lines of shadows on her face and as she hastily tied the string at his neck, they pulled away from each other, feeling strangely colder than before. 

[Name]’s blush was still prominent on her face when the lights switched back on, but it went completely unnoticed by the boys as they were focused on something else entirely. 

In front of the whole room stood Kuroo and Bokuto both wearing the coconut bikinis that [Name] bought them, one boy looking utterly shocked from her bold move and the other flexing his muscles in pride in the ridiculous get up. All of the boys exploded in laughter at seeing two of their captains outwitted by [Name] in the most hilarious way possible. 

“[Name] I think it makes my muscles look even better, right Akaashi?” Bokuto asked while making theatrical faces that were supposed to look sexy in his head, but only added to the booming hysteria in the room. Akaashi barely got out a hum of agreement between chuckles and Kenma couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at his best friend’s embarrassing circumstance. 

While Bokuto continued with his exaggerated flexes, egged on by the roaring laughter from his teammates and his other friends, Kuroo tried to maintain somewhat of a dignified composure in his comically tiny bikini. With one hand on a leaned hip, he attempted to send [Name] a narrow-eyed look of I’m so going to get you back for this but it quickly melted into a chuckling smirk once he saw the unadulterated joy on her face wheezing in laughter. 

\--0--

After much of the roars and teary-eyed laughter died down in the room, [Name] (now feeling fully satisfied in her revenge for the photo mishap) handed out the remaining gifts to her friends. Back in Maui, she nearly bought a small souvenir shop’s entire rack of keychains once she spotted tiny crows, cats, and owls among the store’s assorted collection. Handing them to the respective teams in the room, the excited murmurs of “thank you” echoed around her. Even a strained mutter of gratitude came from Tsuki as she gave him a dinosaur keychain, knowing that he’d prefer it to the crow. Yamaguchi couldn’t hold in his cute giggles as he saw Tsuki try not to geek out about the cuteness of the small item and offered his usual apologies and his bag of gummies from [Name] as a peace offering to Tsuki’s mild glare. 

Then pulling out the more specific items from her bag in no particular order, turned to Bokuto and handed him a stack of American volleyball magazines as she remembered how much he loved “looking at the pictures” while Akaashi analyzed the pro tactics. 

She pulled out two small boxes and gave one to Akaashi who was not expecting any sort of gift. Turning to Suga, she gave him the other box and watched the gentle setters carefully unravel their gifts. Before she could question her choice of souvenirs for them, she caught sight of Akaashi’s soft expression that was lit not only by his surprised content but by the colored lights from the snowglobe that rested in his palm. Suga held a similar snowglobe but was quietly enchanted by the tinkling music of “Aloha Oe” that chimed melodically in the homey room. 

Asahi quickly donned the cozy navy sweatshirt that [Name] gave him, snuggling into the warm fabric that smelled a bit like her with a hint of coconut and… sea salt? [Name] internally melted once she saw the teddy bear giant beaming thankfully to her, looking adorably like the small smiling pineapple that was stitched onto the right side of the sweater. 

Discreetly, [Name] turned towards the corner where Kenma sat curled up focused on his video game as usual. Sliding closer to the quiet boy, she handed him a small box with a soft smile, hoping and wanting some sort of reaction from her friend. Once his feline-like eyes saw the packaging of the rare and unreleased game he had been saving up and waiting for months to get, he turned to her in cute shock.

“But.. but this game doesn’t come out for months…” 

“Turns out they had an early release in America,” [Name] reassured him with a kind smile that the game gripped tightly in hands was genuine and not some prank like the coconut bikini had been. But her smile that made Kenma’s cheeks flush in unusual bashfulness transformed into an open-mouthed, wide-eyed stare as he stunned her with a swift hug, showing his thanks for her thoughtful gift better than his words would. [Name] wasn’t the only one stunned, Kuroo couldn’t believe that Kenma of all people was actually hugging a person...in public… and a girl no less. He recovered faster than [Name] did however, noticing the slight flush on her face as Kenma returned to gazing longingly at his new game.

But [Name] wasn’t done with her surprises yet as she slid a heavy book into Kuroo’s lap. 

“What is this-”

“I remember how much you geeked out over my chemistry homework at the last training camp, so I thought I’d get you something similar…” [Name] trailed off, avoiding his astonished gaze that strangely rivaled his best friend’s. He looked down at the heavy book labeled “Maui’s Volcanoes: The Chemistry of Lava” and struggled not to completely lose himself in the familiar language and formulas of his secret passion as he flipped through the pages. [Name]’s light voice brought him back to reality, chuckling at his rare dorkiness.

“I’m glad you like it.” His signature smirk returned to his face as he leaned closer to her.

“You know [Name] I think we might have better chemistry than all of Maui’s volcanoes combined…” [Name] rolled her eyes at the flirtiness of Kuroo’s usual self and shoved him jokingly.

“Yeah and I’ll burn you too, so watch it bedhead.” 

Finally, after gathering all the photos that had fallen, she picked out the specific six and sat comfortably between her favorite first and second years from Karasuno. 

“[Name]-chan do you have any gifts for us?” asked Hinata excitedly.

“Dumbass don’t be so rude,” Kageyama grumbled to his clueless redheaded friend. 

First turning to Noya and Tanaka who regained consciousness after their silly freak out over [Name] in a bikini, she handed them each three photos from the infamous folder. Before anyone else in the room could question or protest the unfairness of the two most girl-crazy teens getting the photos, [Name] explained herself.

“I actually met some of the top national ranked American and international players at a tournament, so I took pictures with them,” showing the room the pictures of [Name] smiling in a sundress next to the towering professional players, she knew her hectic second years would enjoy their gift. Blubbering at [Name]’s cuteness in her dress and the awesomeness of their stats and records from Bokuto’s magazines, Tanaka and Noya hysterically yelled their thanks. 

“And for the two most obsessed kids I’ve ever seen with a freaking ball, I got you and Kageyama signed pictures from the top players,” she said to Hinata, and pausing for dramatic effect (the room went quiet in typical volleyball awe), she pulled out the mini posters of the players frozen in powerful poses. At the bottom, scribbling of signatures could be seen and Hinata and Kageyama tried their absolute best to not accidentally rip the poster in their wild delight. The whole room of volleyball players burst into yells of “thats so COOL!” and “lemme see!” as they huddled behind Hinata and Kageyama desperate to catch a peek at their rare gifts. And as [Name] saw all of her favorite people crowded together in front of her with expressions of happiness and joy she couldn’t help but be filled with those same feelings, almost enough to forget about the certain photos that she made sure to stuff deep in her bag, far away from the prying eyes of her friends. 

Long after all of them went to bed and [Name] sat quietly unpacking and organizing her belongings in her own room, she flipped through the folder. Her eyes crinkled at the edges when seeing some photos, while falling for others with a feeling very much like homesickness dropping in her stomach. She paused slightly when reaching the end of the folder however. Did she miscount or maybe skip some on accident? But after thoroughly searching through the folder for the third time and double checking with the photos in her bag, she was sure of her dilemma and a dreaded aura of uncertainty crept on her. 

Five of the photos were missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always please feel free to leave any kudos or comments! Let me know which route of relationship you'd like to see [Name] in first!!! (choices are Suga, Asahi, Bokuto, kuroo, or kenma) thank youuuuu:)))))


End file.
